Chances
by fleur de l'amour
Summary: EC. How many chances do you get to do something right?
1. He Is A Man

**Chances**  
_-How many chances do you get to do something right?-_

**Chapter I**  
_He Is A Man_

**_-E/C-_**

The last time Eric Delko had been this scared was when he was sixteen years old. Exactly fifteen years ago. Stalling for time, he recalled the events of that day.

_His mother and father were immediately called to the school office because their son was in trouble. He wasn't scared of what punishment he'd get at home or at school. He was more scared of his parents finding out what he had done. Eric, terrified but with still red tinted cheeks, was seated directly across from the angry form of his high school principal. After waiting about twenty minutes in an anger-filled room, his parents arrived, practically running down the hall to see their son. As soon as they were directed to be seated, the principal stood up and began her never-ending speech. _

"_I do not allow such lewd, immoral acts to be committed in this institution," she began. Eric's parents were clearly confused, so she continued, "Your son has violated a young woman under the bleachers this afternoon..."_

"_Hey, she violated me. It's not like she didn't want it!" Eric interjected, clearly satisfied with his acts._

"_I will not let any of my students participate in obscene, impure, and unconventional behavior on my school property," she quickly replied._

"_For the record, ma'am, this isn't your property, and I'm pretty sure they get the point," Eric said._

"_Young man, this is not the time for you to be smart with that mouth of yours," his mother yelled._

"_She's only mad cause she hasn't gotten laid in years," Eric murmured, but it was clearly audible to his father, who surprisingly chuckled at his remark._

_The meeting continued until the principal ran out of things to say. His mother was clearly infuriated and started to babble words in Spanish about "getting it when he gets home."_

_His father proudly patted him on the back whispering, "Now, son, you are a man, but don't tell your mother I said that."_

He broke away from his reverie with a satisfied smirk on his face. Thoughts of what he was about to attempt once again filled his mind and his smirk dissipated as anxiety flooded him. Yes, he was terrified of his parents finding out about his "experiments" that day, but he realized that this was nothing in comparison to that.

This involved Calleigh Duquesne. The woman he'd known for nearly a decade. The woman who had been friends with him since the day they met. The woman who he'd been falling in love with more and more with each passing day. More importantly, the woman who owned a huge gun collection.

Eric recalled what his father had told him and started a mantra to himself, at least he thought it was just to himself. "I AM A MAN! I can do this! I know I can! She's just a girl, and I AM A MAN!" He repeated these words over and over again, until he heard a burst of laughter from the door.

He was immobile, horrified with embarrassment, and absolutely dreading having to face the person who caught him off guard. He turned around, slowly, and watched as Calleigh continued to laugh hysterically. When she finally managed to calm down, she began to speak, but Eric interrupted her. _Now or never._

"Calleigh… do you like me?" he blurted out.

She, having somewhat of an idea where this conversation was going to lead to, stopped her giggling, and mocked his unexplainable nervousness, "Eric… if I didn't like you, then I'm certain you and I wouldn't be friends."

"Umm… you're right, but I what I meant was do you 'like me' like me?" he replied, more scared than he was earlier.

"Okay, you're either really deaf, really stupid, or both. Whatever one it is, I don't care, but I already said that I liked you, that's why we're friends," she replied, amused.

He gave up. He knew that if he wanted to get anything out of her, he had to ask her directly. He knew this whole situation amused her, and who could blame her? If there was some fool in front of him, acting like he did, he'd certainly find it funny, unless it was Calleigh, of course. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, he asked, "Calleigh Duquesne, would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

"Like on a date?" she asked, although already knowing both his response and her actual answer.

He was getting frustrated, not at her, but at himself. It's been a long, stressful day, and with every passing moment, his apprehension grew, his embarrassment increased, and his ego shrank. Eric Delko is a MAN! If he could get this right with other women, why did it have to mess up when he was talking to the love of his life?

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant," he replied rather coldly. "If I had to choose which one of us was being deaf and stupid, it'd be you," he added, frustrated, before he could stop himself.

His response was totally unexpected. Caught off guard, Calleigh was unsure of how she should feel. Did she expect this to be the outcome of an amusing flirtation? Definitely not. Was she hurt? Yes, in every way possible. Was she scared? More than she'd care to admit. Was she disappointed? Without a doubt, yes. But whatever she felt inside, the only thing that showed through her eyes was anger.

Eric was a man, alright... a STUPID man! How could he mess up his relationship with her before it even started? If he was scared before, he certainly was now. The only thing that would make him feel better is if he could go back in time, smack himself on the head, and fix what he just did. Since that was impossible, the only other choices were either to run away and hide or just die, right where he was standing, which wasn't entirely implausible with Calleigh looking at him the way she was. He'd rather hand Calleigh a gun and let her shoot him with it, instead of seeing the anger in her eyes. Yes, he was stupid.

"Cal… I'm so sorry," he began his apologies, but Calleigh stopped him.

"I have some paper work to do," she said, holding back the anger that rushed through her body.

"Cal, I'm so-" he tried again, but it was to no avail.

"You can be such an ass, you know that? I can't believe I was actually thinking about saying… Never mind, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." With that, Calleigh stormed out of the break room and headed for her lab, leaving Eric feeling… well, it didn't matter how he felt right now. She felt a slight satisfaction in leaving him how he was, squirming at his mistakes, but that satisfaction didn't make up for the anger she felt towards him.


	2. A Much Needed Friend

**Chances**  
_-How many chances do you get to do something right?-_

**Chapter II**  
_A Much Needed Friend_

_**-E/C- **_

"_You can be such an ass, you know that? I can't believe I was actually thinking about saying… Never mind, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." With that, Calleigh stormed out of the break room and headed for her lab, leaving Eric feeling… well, it didn't matter how he felt right now. She felt a slight satisfaction in leaving him how he was, squirming at his mistakes, but that satisfaction didn't make up for the anger she felt towards him._

_**-E/C- **_

Calleigh was fuming with anger. Each step she took away from the break room broke her heart. How could her playful banter ruin the moment she's been looking forward to since she met Eric? Yeah, it's been a long day, but that certainly didn't give him the right to treat her this way.

On her way out of the locker room, Natalia caught a glimpse of Calleigh's distraught face and started to worry. The redhead quickly, yet carefully approached the blonde to find out what was going on. As much as she wanted to know what was wrong, she knew about Calleigh's perfect relationship with guns. She caught up with Cal outside the doors of the ballistics lab and slowly placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, successfully stopping Calleigh from walking any further.

"Is everything alright?" she asked nervously.

"Hey, Nat. Umm, yeah, everything's fine. What makes you think anything's wrong?" Calleigh asked, clearly trying to hide her anger.

"He screwed up, didn't he?" Natalia countered. Calleigh looked at her knowingly and realized that Natalia knew everything that was going on. She opted to stay silent until Natalia gave up, but the woman refused to leave without an answer.

"Umm, yeah he did," she let out a nervous chuckle and continued, "Listen, could you do me a favor and tell Eric that I went home?" She waited for Natalia to nod in response and quickly added, "That's if he comes looking for me, okay?"

"Cal, it's Eric. Of course he'll come looking for you, but I'll tell him. Are you sure you're okay? You know I can kick his ass for you?" she asked playfully, but had a hint of seriousness in her tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine and as much as I'd love for that to happen, I think I'm covered," Cal replied, motioning her head towards her gun, then the ballistics lab. The two women shared a laugh and after few more minutes of idle chatter, Calleigh remembered that she had to go back to work. "Do you want to grab some coffee after shift or something? I can sure use someone to talk to right about now."

"I'm guessing that you want to know how I know about Eric's little plan." Calleigh smiled in response and Natalia continued, "Smart girl. If I were you I'd be dieing to find out more, but yeah, coffee sounds great."

Calleigh mumbled a quick thank you and the two women went their separate ways. Natalia started to head back to her desk to finish paperwork and Calleigh entered the ballistics lab.

Eric, on the other hand, was in a frantic search for Calleigh. He was so out of his mind cause of his stupidity that he nearly ran over Natalia in the middle of the corridor. A huge smile broke on her face as she saw the desperation written all over his countenance. At the same time, however, she felt bad for the guy. After all, it was Calleigh Duquesne he was going against.

"You look a bit lost," Natalia began.

"Have you seen Calleigh?" Eric quickly asked.

"Hey, Eric. How's your day? I'm fine. Thanks for asking," she replied, sounding upset, yet clearly amused by the situation.

"Sorry. I'm just in a rush to find Cal, and Wolfe said he saw you talking to her."

"Yeah, she said she was going home. It seems to me like she was having a really bad day, like she was angry at someone. All I know is that I wouldn't want to be the person who gets in her way. We all know what she can do, _especially_ when she's packing heat," Natalia said, emphasizing her words as she watched the fear rush through Eric's body. She tried as best she could to stifle a giggle, but it was to no avail.

When Natalia started laughing, all Eric could do was plaster a nervous smile on his face. He tried to play off the terrifying thoughts raking at him, but he knew that everything that Natalia just said was true. "If you do see her, can you please tell that I'm sorry and that I need to talk to her? Please."

After pretending to think about doing him this favor, she answered, "Well, since you said please, I'll do it. Oh, and please do yourself a favor and behave. I'm not in the mood to clean up another crime scene, if you know what I mean."

Without waiting for a reply, Natalia started to walk away, leaving Eric terrified by what she'd said. He stood there, in the middle of the lab, thinking to himself. After a few minutes of running the images of what Calleigh could do to him, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He slowly started to walk towards the elevators, intending to head to one place… Calleigh's house.

As for Cal, she calmed herself at the ballistics lab. She emptied ten rounds at the shooting range from a Smith and Wesson M&P45, giving herself a much needed satisfaction. She busied herself with some paper work and by the time she looked up, it was time to leave.

As if one cue, Natalia called Calleigh the moment she decided to pack her things. Natalia said that she'd meet Cal at the café near the lab and the two women could talk. Calleigh collected her things and signed out from work, heading for the café.

Over the years, their friendship has evolved and Cal found trust in Natalia. Although it was no comparison to what she shared with Eric, she definitely needed a woman to talk about things she couldn't openly discuss with him, especially when the subject involved him.


	3. Dinner and Girl Talk

**Chances**  
_-How many chances do you get to do something right?-_

**Chapter III**  
_Dinner and Girl Talk_

_**-E/C- **_

_As if one cue, Natalia called Calleigh the moment she decided to pack her things. Natalia said that she'd meet Cal at the café near the lab and the two women could talk. Calleigh collected her things and signed out from work, heading for the café. _

_Over the years, their friendship has evolved and Cal found trust in Natalia. Although it was no comparison to what she shared with Eric, she definitely needed a woman to talk about things she couldn't openly discuss with him, especially when the subject involved him. _

_**-E/C- **_

"Hey," Calleigh greeted, seeming to be in a much better mood.

"Hey, back. I see someone's feeling a lot better," Natalia said.

"Pretty much. I just had a really long day!"

"Case got to you, too?

"Parents trading their child for drugs and guns? Yeah, it got to me," Calleigh replied sadly.

"Well, join the club. The whole lab is practically going through an overnight case of depression. It's like we're a walking advertisement for anti-depressants before they give you the good stuff."

"Doesn't exactly surprise me."

Seconds later, a bubbly waitress came to their table and took their orders. With the work load they were busy with today, the two women hadn't had time to eat dinner and decided on getting a nice meal with their coffee. After a few minutes the waitress left and silence fell between the two officers, until Natalia found the confidence to speak again.

"So," she began carefully, "I happen to remember that we're here for a totally different reason."

"Do we really have to go there?"

"Calleigh, you were the one who asked to talk, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Calleigh replied. She continued with a hint of annoyance, yet excitement, "It's just that he drives me insane."

"Wow, you are normal." Calleigh gave her a questioning look and Natalia explained, "You'd have to be crazy not to be crazy if a man acts the way Eric does around you."

"Okay, I'm officially confused," Calleigh said with a giggle.

"Well, Eric is one of those smooth-talking men. He's got the looks, the personality, and everything going for him, but he's like a pile of mush when he's around you. That's gotta give you some kind of excitement, right?"

Calleigh nodded with a smile and Natalia continued, "Look at it this way, Eric becomes Ryan when he's within a hundred feet of you."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah. A few months ago I had a barbecue at my place and Ryan had one disaster after another."

"Okay… Wait, I don't remember going to a barbecue at your place."

"That's because you already had plans with a certain Cuban," Natalia countered with a knowing look. Calleigh blushed, and the brunette continued, "Anyway, Valera was sitting on the swing at the front porch. Well, Ryan being Ryan decided he would try to impress her. He gets up, pours two glasses of margaritas, and everything _looked_ perfectly fine. The next minute Ryan walks behind the swing intending on giving Valera the drink, but since she didn't see him, she moved the swing backwards, hitting Ryan in the process, and the drinks spilled all over him."

Calleigh couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe I missed that!"

"Yeah, I would've told you about it sooner, but I promised to keep my mouth shut for awhile."

"Poor Ryan."

"That's not the worst part. After Ryan threw a tantrum about his wet clothes, he finally calmed down and decided to join Valera on the swing. He was still tense so he settled himself on the swing with a little more force than necessary and as soon as he sat down, the swing fell, bring him and Valera with it."

With that, Calleigh and Natalia laughed hysterically. Natalia then added, "He still owes me a new swing."

"Nat, don't you think a lifetime of embarrassment is payment enough?" Calleigh said with a giggle.

"Well, I guess it's more fun this way."

The laughter slowly died down as they continued to comment on Ryan's not so suave record when it came to women. The waitress then came back with their food and the conversation returned to its main concern…Eric.

"So do I really do that to Eric? I mean, you know, turn him into a disaster like Ryan."

"Yeah. We both know you do and you know you enjoy it."

"I don't think I'll be able to deny that," she said with a smile.

"Well, everyone can see that. So were you really that mad at Eric today?"

"Okay, okay, I admit it! I might have overreacted just a little bit, but it's not like it was my fault."

"A little?"

"Okay, I overreacted a lot, but I can't help it. I'm a woman and it's nearing that time," she said with a chuckle.

"PMS, a nervous man, and a mischievous, gun-slinging lady doesn't exactly equal a fairytale romance, but I guess you two are different.'

"Why, gee, thanks!" Calleigh replied sarcastically.

"Anytime, Cal. But seriously, you two are like a match made in CSI heaven."

"Well," Calleigh began to ramble, complete with her hands motioning everywhere, "I mean Eric's so…Eric! He's beyond, _beyond_ good looking, he definitely knows how to make me smile and laugh when I feel like absolute crap, he's got a great personality, and he's smart, too. It makes me sick! I've known him for so many years and like any other woman, I can't help myself sometimes. Now, he's like everywhere I go and look, and it's driving me insane! I know I love him and all, but I think that we've danced around this for so long that we've made something simple so complicated. Like that time…"

She stopped speaking all of a sudden when she saw a huge grin plastered on Natalia's face. "What?"

"You just said you love Eric!"

"No, I didn't," Calleigh said, blushing.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't," Calleigh said, rather defensively.

"You definitely did," Natalia said confidently.

Calleigh was silent and after a few moments, she questioned herself. "I did? Oh my goodness, I did," her southern drawl exaggerated with her excitement.

Natalia just sat across her love-struck friend and giggled. "Don't tell me that's the first time you've actually let yourself know that?"

"Oh, you shut your mouth. I'm having issues remember," she said, lighthearted with her realization.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

"This stays between us, right? I mean, until I'm ready to tell him," Calleigh asked nervously.

"Definitely," Natalia replied with a huge smile.

"Nat, it would help the cause if you turn down that smile just a little bit, especially around Eric."

"Okay, I'll try," she said, quickly changing her words when Calleigh glared at her, "I meant, I will."

"Well, I certainly feel relieved."

"Good, it's actually about time you admitted that. And look, we're not even half way through dinner yet."

The two women shared a laugh and began talking about past relationships, asking each other questions about the men that were once in their lives.

It was Calleigh's turn to ask a question. "What was the most embarrassing date you've ever gone on?"

Natalia thought for a second before replying, "It would have to be with Jason."

"Jason?"

"Yeah. So I go on this date with Jason that a good friend of mine set me up with. I usually hate being set up cause I have some reservations about not knowing someone, but I decided to let the chains lose and go. Anyway, we went to this Indian restaurant and ate lots of spicy foods. Everything was going great then we headed for a bar across the street. We enjoyed happy hour and I invited him over to my place for coffee, nothing more. When we got there, we made small talk then he made a move to kiss me.

"Sounds normal so far," Calleigh cut in.

"You spoke just a minute too soon Cal," Natalia said shaking her head. "I was attracted to him, at least up until the point where he abandoned me for the bathroom. Apparently the spicy foods and the drinks didn't mix well and it hit him like a ton of bricks. So, forty-five minutes later I call his phone, wondering if he was okay. Turns out he passed out in the bathroom and after that he was so embarrassed that he never called me again. It was such a waste 'cause he seemed like a pretty decent guy."

"Well, at least that happened to him and not you, but lesson learned! Never mix drinks with spicy foods," the blonde said with a serious, yet playful tone.

The brunette shook her head in laughter and asked, "What was your most embarrassing date?"

"It wasn't necessarily a date, but it was definitely embarrassing," Calleigh recalled. "When I was in college I was dating this guy. His name was Mark and he played baseball at UNO. So like most of the guys on the team, he lived at a frat house."

"Not bad, Duquesne."

Calleigh laughed and continued, "Anyway, he shared a room with this guy Jeffrey, and unfortunately, Mark had the top bunk. One night during junior year, the two of us were just fooling around on his bed and things were going good. We were just making out and when things were getting pretty heated, he took off his shirt and then shifted our positions."

"I don't see how this could be embarrassing. It sounds more like a good sex story," Natalia said.

"Oh, it definitely gets bad. Well, that shifting positions plan didn't work too well cause as soon as he moved me, I rolled off the top bunk and fell straight to the floor. I ended up kicking a table as I fell and Jeffrey's TV fell with me. The guys from the house heard a loud thud and came rushing into the room. I mean it was bad enough that it happened; it got worse when twelve other guys saw it. Mark brought me to the hospital and I had to get stitches on my forehead. As soon as we got back, the guys started laughing and teasing. It was pretty funny, but I was so embarrassed."

"That must've hurt. What happened with this guy?"

"Oh, trust me. It hurt like hell! But as for Mark, we went out until January of our senior year. We had different priorities and it was time to end it. He was a good guy, but he wasn't the right one."

"You mean he wasn't like Eric."

"Yeah, pretty much."

They continued asking each other random questions, until Calleigh checked her watch for the time and said, "Well it's about 9 o'clock right now and I need to get some rest."

"Yeah, me too."

"I had a great time talking with you."

"How about we get together again next week? After our shifts on Wednesdays?" Natalia queried.

"Sounds like a plan," Calleigh said with a smile.

The two women paid for their dinner and walked to the parking lot. They said their good-byes and gave each other a quick embrace. Before Calleigh left, Natalia gave her some words of advice, "Tell him. Soon. Please."

"I will," Calleigh replied, before starting her car. With that, the two friends went their separate ways and headed to their respective homes.

_**-E/C- **_

What Calleigh didn't know was that someone got to her house before she did.


End file.
